Monster xx Edited Version xx
by avatar-chik
Summary: Has the same plot as my original version of "Monster". I just cleaned it up a bit and changed some things around. Those of you who have read the original version might like to read and compare. Alot better than original in my opinion.
1. Hana and Gaara Meet!

_Using the last of his chakra, Gaara was finally able to defeat his attacker. He stared at the corpse on the ground, covering his bleeding wound with one of his hands and breathing heavily. His sand laid around him on the forest floor, wet and useless to him._

_Being as persistent as he was, he ignored his body's cry for rest and continued on his way. With each step he took, the pain grew stronger and his body grew weaker. He walked on for about five minutes before his weary legs started to shake beneath him. He now struggled to keep his balance, but was determined to stay on his feet anyway._

_Slowly, his exhaustion started getting the best of him. He began tripping over his own two feet, it was getting harder for him to breath, and his vision was deteriorating. His footsteps were smaller, causing him to gain less ground._

_After about 5 more steps, Gaara finally collapsed on the side of the dirt road. He attempted to get up, but found that he couldn't move. The sand-bearer sighed in defeat and aggravation. There was nothing he could do at the moment. All he could do was lay there and wait for his body to regain its strength._

_Even while he was lying there, he was still battling. He struggled to fight of unconsciousness. He had already succumbed to exhaustion. There was no way that he was going to let the darkness overcome him. _

_The teen was able to fight it off for about an hour. After that, he allowed himself to close his eyes. He was still conscious, but closing his eyes allowed him to relax more._

_Over the next hour, Gaara heard the footsteps of travelers. He listened as the footsteps slowed. He figured that they were probably stopping to see who he was and what was wrong with him. Then the footsteps would quicken in pace and disappear moments later. He knew that they figured out who he was and knew what the consequence would be if they were to try and get involved with him._

_Another hour passed by before he heard another set of footsteps. They slowed in pace and got closer. He waited for them to fade away again, but they stopped all together._

"_Where did they go?" he wondered. He got his answer when he felt another presence beside him._

_oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo_

_A young female was walking down a dirt path, her eyes constantly darting from one side to the other. Her ice blue eyes were taking in everything, as if anything that happened would be the last thing that ever happened. She stopped in front of a bloody corpse, tilting her head to one side. She knelt down to take a closer look._

_It was a ninja of the hidden rain village, and it looked as if he had only been dead for a couple hours. Her eyes wandered around the area, trying to pick up clues to what had happened. She noticed that the ground was wet and that there was wet sand everywhere._

"_What happened here?" she asked herself out loud. She shifted her eyes back towards the corpse lying in front of her, a smirk spreading across her face. She laid her hand gently on the back of the dead ninja's head and closed her eyes. She began to relax her breathing and focused her thoughts on the task before her._

_After a couple of minutes, her hands began to glow a luminescent light blue color. She stayed that way for a few more minutes before slowly removing her hand. Her eyes remained closed a few moments longer, before she opened them and got up. She looked around the area, as if she were searching for something. She sighed in frustration and continued onward._

_As she walked down the dirt path, she noticed that there was a trail of wet sand. She looked at it curiously, wondering where it led to. She slowly followed it, and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw where it ended. She frowned at the crimson haired boy that was lying on the side of the road._

"_That was the boy that rain ninja had ambushed," she thought to herself. She slowly approached him and knelt down beside him. "I sure hope he's okay."_

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

"Hey boy, are you okay?" Gaara felt someone gently shaking him by the shoulder. Groaning, Gaara slowly opened his eyes and saw a female his age kneeling over him.

After a few moments, Gaara could clearly see the girl. The only thing that really stood out to him was her piercing ice blue eyes and her bleach blonde hair.

Gaara tried sitting up but was immediately met with dizziness and had to lie back down. The girl put a gentle hand on his chest and examined the wound. She then looked back up at his face and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You're Sabaku no Gaara, aren't you?" she asked, shock written all over her face. The boy closed his eyes, not wanting to see the fear and hatred in them.

"_She's going to run away," _he told himself, _"Just like all the others."_ Gaara opened his eyes again a few moments, realizing that she was still there. He stared into her eyes, not seeing any trace of fear in them.

"Would you like me to dress that wound for you?" she asked, giving him a shy smile. He responded by giving her a perplexed look.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Gaara blinked at her, breaking his stare.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked.

"I just told you, didn't I? What's the big deal?"

"If you know my name, then you should know about the things I have done." Gaara looked down at the ground in shame. The girl sighed, nodding her head.

"Yes, I've heard about those stories. Now that I have answered your questions, I'd appreciate it if you would answer mine. Do you want me to dress your wound or not?" He looked back up at her, staring into her eyes blankly. She looked absolutely serious to him, which was confusing.

After staring at her for a few moments longer, he finally nodded. He figured that if he was going to get back to the village anytime soon, he would have to let someone help him. Plus, he didn't sense anything dangerous about her. She seemed fairly weak as a matter of fact.

He allowed the girl to help him sit up. She un-strapped his gourd and undid his brown shirt. The female then had him lie back down as she dug through her rucksack and pulled out some ointment and bandages. She squirted some of the ointment onto a piece of gauze and rubbed it onto the wound. Gaara closed his eyes, trying to ignore the stinging of the anti-biotic.

"Who are you?" he asked as she pulled him back into a sitting position. The girl was quiet for a moment as she started wrapping the bandages around his chest. She tied it off when she finished and looked up at him with a smile.

"My name is Nakanishi, Hana!" she told him sweetly. Gaara stared at her with a blank face. She stared back at him for a few more seconds before buttoning up Gaara's shirt and helping him get his gourd back on.

"I can walk back with you to your village," she told him softly. Gaara shook his head.

"I don't need you doing anything else for me," he sighed. Hana chuckled.

"Well, could I at least follow you? It will be my first time going to the Hidden Sand Village and I would feel a little bit better if I knew exactly where I was going."

"Why are you going to Sunagakure?"

"It's my mission," she told, another smile gracing her lips.

"_Why is she always smiling?" _Gaara wondered to himself.

"Why would they send someone who doesn't even know the way?" Gaara asked coldly. Hana's smile grew bigger.

"Because the elders of your village asked for me!"

"Why would they ask for someone as pathetic as you?"

"I'm special!" she chirped proudly. Gaara wanted to roll his eyes at her, but he didn't. He nodded at her, knowing that the journey back to his village was going to be extremely long and extremely miserable.


	2. Memories and a Mission

**Gaara's POV**

I was sitting on the roof of my house, alone as usual. I had been sitting there for over an hour, torturing myself. I don't know why, but I couldn't get Hana out of my head. Whenever I'm around her I get this feeling that is unfamiliar. It's kind of awkward, since I'm not really used to it.

I'm also not used to how she acts when she's around me. I am more familiar to people giving me cold glares and trying to avoid me; being called a monster or a mistake; people hating and fearing me.

Hana has only been here for 2 days and she's already driving me even more insane than I already am, if that is even possible. The main thing that bothered me was how happy she was all the time. I couldn't understand how she could stand smiling so much.

She's definitely not like other people. I don't really have much room to talk about that though. After all, I am extremely different and will never be like other people. That is just a given.

I sighed to myself, laying back and looking up into the sky. There was a part of me that wanted to let Hana in. At the same time, the other part of me wouldn't let me do that. It was easy for Uzumaki, Naruto to let people in. It actually isn't that surprising. He has never been stabbed in the back as badly as I have been.

I had trusted someone before. It was my uncle Yashamaru. He told me that I was special to him and that he didn't hate me like all the others did. I believed him. I thought that he understood me. I thought that he cared about me. When I look back on it all, I can't believe how foolish I was to believe him.

He ended up betraying me; stabbing me in the back. He tried to kill me. Instead, it was him who ended up dying. That wasn't before he told me the truth. He told me about how he actually hated me; how I had never been loved; how my own mother named me out of hatred towards the village.

I was only six and I was left devastated. After that happened, my father continued to try and assassinate me. I told myself that I wouldn't trust anyone else but myself. I would never show love for anyone else but myself. I carved the kanji sign, "love" into my forehead so I wouldn't forget it. I never wanted to be hurt like that again.

After my fight with Uzumaki, Naruto, I realized that if I wanted to get stronger I would have to make bonds. As they say, "It's easier said than done." I haven't even been able to create a bond with my own siblings. They still fear me, and I really don't blame them. After the way I have treated them, I deserve it. It's partially my fault as well. I can't help but fear that anyone I try to bond with will stab me in the back.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

"Gaara!" I was suddenly pulled from my thoughts. I sat up and peered over the edge of the roof, seeing Hana waving up to me. "The Sand council wants to see us immediately!"

I sighed to myself before jumping down from the roof, landing right beside her. She gave me a quick smile and we walked down the sandy road towards the Administration Building.

The two of us waited outside of the meeting room. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Hana looking up at the ceiling. Of course, she was still smiling. I just couldn't seem to understand how she could always smile like that. There's no reason for her to, so why? It has been driving me absolutely insane.

Just then, I was called in by the council. Leaving Hana out in the hallway, I shut the door behind me and stood in front of the council. I looked in the general direction of the elder, who was the leader of the council at the moment. He would only remain the leader until the new Kazekage is chosen.

"Gaara," the old man began. "We are entrusting you with a very simple mission. All you have to do is be a guard to Hana while she investigates the ambush sight of two of our shinobi."

"And you chose me because…."

"We had no other choice! Plus, we are giving you another chance to prove yourself as being able to function well with others." I felt as if he were talking to a small child that didn't know how to play with others nicely. I didn't like it at all.

"She is a ninja from Konohagakure. If anything were to happen to her, it could stress the relations between our two villages. If you can't control yourself, then you will be facing any and all of the consequences that go with it. Do you understand?" I sighed and nodded, showing that I understood. "Good. Then you are dismissed. Send Hana in on your way out."

I turned and left the room, telling Hana that they wanted to see her. She nodded and went inside, shutting the door behind her. I leaned up against the wall and waited, knowing she would want me to.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

**Hana's POV**

I stood in front of the council members, staring at them with a blank face. I didn't like the aura I was getting from them. It was dark and sinister and was making me feel really uncomfortable.

"Are you sure you will be alright with Gaara?" I nodded, giving them a weak smile.

"I am completely fine with Gaara-san as my partner," I assured them. "I'm really looking forward to working with him. Is there something that you are concerned about? Maybe something I should be aware of?" The elder sighed and nodded.

"You know about the demon that is sealed with in him." I nodded. I knew a little about it, but not much. "Even though Gaara hasn't been as unstable as he had been on previous occasions, the Shukaku makes his actions unpredictable. You will be putting yourself in….."

"Please don't worry about me sir. People are always underestimating me, just because I don't have any ninja abilities. I am positive that I can take care of myself around him." The council all looked at me in curiosity. Many of them had no idea why I was even there, since I wasn't really a qualified ninja.

"Very well," he sighed. "Just be sure to keep an eye on him." I nodded and bowed my head in respect. "The two of you are to leave tomorrow morning." I nodded one last time before quickly leaving the room.

I walked out into the hallway and was surprised to find Gaara standing outside the door. He was leaning up against the wall with his arms folded over his chest and his eyes closed. He slowly opened his them and stared at me emotionlessly. I could tell that he was waiting for me to tell him what happened.

"We leave at dawn tomorrow," I told him. "We'll meet outside the village gates." Gaara slowly nodded and I smiled at him. He kind of gave me a look of disgust before turning away and walking down the hallway.

I slowly followed him. I couldn't stop thinking about him. He seemed so angry and unhappy. At least that was what he tried to make everyone believe. I could see behind his mask. I could see his loneliness and his pain.

Being able to read people is part of my abilities. If I wanted to, I could go as deep as I wanted to. However, I didn't want to do that with Gaara. If he wanted to talk about something, he would have talked about it. It pained me to see him going through all of that suffering though.

"_I will try and be friendly," _I told myself. I knew that he needed more than someone just acting friendly towards him, but it was a start.


	3. The Monster Within

It took Gaara and Hana until dusk to reach the edge of River Country. They stopped and made camp.

"Why are you always smiling?" Gaara finally asked while he was building up a camp fire. Hana looked up at him, not really knowing what to say since there was really no particular reason.

"I don't know," she answered. "I guess there's no reason, but there's no reason for me not to either."

_"That is the stupidest excuse I ever heard,"_ Gaara thought to him self. Using flint and his kunai knife, he was able to make a fire, which he kept going by adding more wood.

Later that night, Gaara sat in a tree while Hana slept. He watched over her and looked up at the full moon in the sky. The moon reminded Gaara about what Yashamaru had told him that night when he attempted to murder him. It reminded him of the pain that he felt and of the hate that everyone had for him. It reminded him that he was a monster, a threat to everyone around him. The moon made him thirst for blood. He looked down at Hana, a wicked grinning going across his face.

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his head. making him grimace in pain. He quickly grabbed his head in his hands, trying to regain control over himself.

_"Stop!" _he hissed, trying to fight back the lust for death. "_No more! Not now!"_ Gaara suddenly blacked out, falling out of the tree. The sand protected him from the impact of the fall, saving him from serious injury but the noise was still enough to wake Hana up.

Hana quickly sat up in her sleeping bag and looked behind her. She saw Gaara laying on the ground, the sand returning into his gourd. She got up and went over to him, kneeling over him. She could feel a large amount of negative energy surrounding him due to the turmoil going on within him. Hana grabbed him by the shoulders and gently shook him until he came to.

Gaara slowly opened his eyes and realized that Hana was kneeling over him.

"Get away from me!" he barked, pushing her away from him and getting to his feet. He grasped his head in his hands, groaning from the pain. Hana got to her feet and slowly approached Gaara.

"Let me see," she said softly. She gently touched Gaara's shoulder with one hand, getting him to turn toward her. Once Gaara realized what was happening, he quickly reacted by shoving her away from him.

"I said to stay away!" he growled as she fell to the ground. This only angered Hana. She got back to her feet and shoved Gaara back. He fell backwards, landing on his sand. He was completely shocked by this. No one had ever retalliated against him before. Not only that, but his sand should have protected him.

"I'll stay away," she told him, her eyes boring into his own. "I won't let you shove me around though. I'm not like everyone else. I'm not afraid of you and I won't let you walk all over me." Hana turned away from the dumbfounded red-head and went back over to the camp fire. She crawled into her sleeping bag and laid back down.

"Goodnight," she whispered angrily. She was agitated, but she had to remember that it was Gaara that she was dealing with. She couldn't expect much from him. Even so, she wasn't going to let him walk all over her.

_"How am I supposed to get close to someone like him?"_ Hana wondered as she lay silently in her sleeping bag. _"I really want to create a bond with him, but it seems like he wants nothing to do with me. Maybe he'll change a bit now that he knows that he doesn't intimidate me."_

_"_Gaara didn't exactly hate Hana. He didn't trust her, that was true but he didn't want to hurt her either. He knew she was trying to help, but he knew that she would be of know help in his current state. The only thing she could accomplish was getting herself killed.


	4. I Believe You!

Hana and Gaara approached the site around noon the next day. Neither of them had said a word to each other since the night before. Hana didn't want to upset Gaara anymore so she kept her mouth shut. Gaara was naturally a quiet person, so he just made the silence even more eerie.

The site that they were approaching was where two dead sand shinobi were found a few days ago. The only information either of them were given was where the bodies were found. That was all that Hana really needed anyway.

Even before they entered the area, Hana had been feeling strange energies from around her. As they got closer to the exact spot, Hana became more and more lightheaded. Gaara noticed this and became a bit annoyed, since she was slowing the pace.

"If you need to stop and rest, just say so," Gaara grumbled in agitation. Gaara turned to look at her just in time to see her fall to the ground with a thud. Gaara looked down, staring at her emotionless body with widened eyes.

_"Great!" _he thought to himself, _"She died and I wasn't even the cause of it!" _Gaara knelt down beside her and rolled her over onto her back. He raised an invisible eyebrow, a little shocked at what he saw.

Her eyes were partially open, and were glowing a dark purple color. He looked down at her chest, seeing that she was breathing. Gaara sighed, even more aggravated at his partner.

_"Why don't I just kill her now?" _he asked himself. _"It would make everything so much easier."_

_**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX**_

**Hana's Dream**

_**"Do you think we lost them Otando?" a sand kunoichi asked, panting hard. Her partner looked at her and shrugged. The two sand ninja were crouching behind some brush, trying to catch their breath.**_

_**"I'm not sure Tenshi," he replied, breathing hard as well. "But we shouldn't wait around anymore." Tenshi nodded in agreement.**_

_**Just as they were about to leave, a smoke bomb went off. The two of them were instantly surrounded by poisonous gas. They coughed and gagged as they made their way out of the deadly cloud. They didn't get very far before they fell to the ground, the toxins spreading through their body.**_

_**As soon as the gas cleared up, two rain ninja came up to their paralyzed bodies, finished them off. Once that was done, they left their bodies to rot, or be found by someone else.**_

**End of Dream**

Gaara stood in front of Hana, staring coldly at the body before him. An evil energy surrounded him as he motionlessly stood there.

"Did you kill him?" a voice from behind him asked. Gaara turned his head slightly to see Hana getting to her feet. His eyes followed her as she came to stand next to him. Gaara simply nodded and returned to staring at the rain ninja corpse.

"He attacked us," Gaara mumbled, "So I killed him." Hana blinked at him and sighed, shaking her head in disapproval.

"Then you can carry his body back to the village. We need to extract whatever information we can get from it." Gaara didn't reply, and Hana didn't wait for him to do so. She turned away from him and walked in the direction of the desert. Sand enveloped the rain ninja's body. Gaara turned and slowly followed Hana.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Hana finally exited the council's meeting room after being de-briefed from the mission. Gaara, who had been waiting out in the hallway, looked up to listen to what needed to be said.

"You are free to go," she told him, smiling softly. "The council wants me to stay behind for something." Gaara nodded slightly and was about to turn to leave. He stopped and looked at her.

"What happened to you back there?" he asked, his voice plain and unfeeling. Hana smiled and chuckled. He knew that he was asking out of curiosity, not concern.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that with you right now," she told him teasingly. Gaara narrowed his eyes at her and turned away. "I'll see you later!" she called after him as he walked away.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

**Later that Night**

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Kankurou walked down the hall to answer the door.

_Knock, knock, knock._

"I'm coming!" Kankurou groaned loudly. He jerked the door open, his expression fading away when he saw the person.

"Is Gaara here?" a young girl asked. Kankurou raised an eyebrow at the mention of Gaara's name.

""Why would you want to see Gaara?" he asked, confusion eminent in his voice. The girl smirked.

"I'm his partner, Hana." Kankurou nodded in understanding.

"He's not here. I think he's down by the watering hole." Hana nodded and thanked him, leaving to go find her partner. Kankurou shut the door and smirked to himself.

"What are you smirking about?" Temari asked, giving her brother a strange look.

"Gaara's new partner just stopped by to see him," Kankurou told her, snickering. Temari grinned and giggled along with him.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Gaara was kneeling by a pool of water. Gaara was covered with someone else's blood. Lying several yards away from him were the remains of a shinobi.

"It wasn't my fault," he kept whispering to himself. He was clutching his head with both hands, his fingers entangled in his hair. His breathing was shaky and uneven.

"I didn't want to kill him," he whispered to himself. His eyes had fear and confusion in them. "He was going to kill me, and I just couldn't stop myself. No one will believe me. No one ever believes me."

"I believe you," came a small voice from behind him. Gaara snapped his neck around towards the person. It was Hana.

"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly. He wasn't expecting to see her here.

"Your brother said that you might be up here," she answered, slowly approaching him. "Are you okay?"

"Why do you care?" he asked bitterly, turning away from her. Hana knelt down beside him, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. Gaara stiffened under her touch.

"Because I like you and I don't want to see anything bad happen to you." Hana unwrapped some of the clean bandages on her arm and dipped them into the cool water. Putting her fingers beneath Gaara's chin, she turned his head towards her. Gaara stared into her ice blue eyes as she gently wiped off the blood on his face and hands

"The council is going to have to be told about this," she told him softly. Gaara averted his eyes from her.

"I can't….."

"Don't worry about it," Hana told him, cutting him off. "We'll take care of it tomorrow, together." Gaara looked back up at her. He didn't know why he was so surprised to find her smiling at him. "Are you ready to go back to the village?" she asked, getting to her feet. Gaara nodded slowly, allowing Hana to help him to his feet.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

**The Next Day**

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

"Do you have anything to say about the incident with Gaara last night?" the elder asked her. Hana sighed.

"I came after Gaara had already killed the assassin you had sent." The elder narrowed his eyes at her, Hana doing the same thing back at him. The elder finally sighed in defeat.

"He is a threat to the village," he told her. "He is slowly losing control and it needs to be dealt with. You can't honestly tell me that you can't see it too!" Hana bit her bottom lip and slowly nodded her head.

"Yes, I have noticed."

"Then you see why we are doing this. Normally, we wouldn't ask….."

"You want me to assassinate him, right?" she asked, interrupting him.

"Precisely." Hana looked down at the ground blankly.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Unknown to Hana, Gaara had been standing outside the door, listening to the conversation. What was left of his heart had shattered. He slowly backed away from the door and walked down the hallway.

_"Why am I such a fool," _he told himself. _"To think I was about to give her my trust. She will pay for this."_

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Hana finally looked back up at the council and shook her head.

"I can't do that," she told them softly. "Attempting to assassinate him isn't going to help anyway. Wouldn't you have learned that after you failed the last couple of times?" The council members smirked at her, as if they enjoyed seeing her ticked off.

"Then what do you propose we do?" he asked impatiently.

"Leave him alone. I'll work with him personally and see what I can do."

"Is that really going to do anything?" he asked.

"I won't know until I try."

"Very well," the elder sighed. "But he is your responsibility now. If he goes out of control, it will be your duty to stop him by any means necessary." Hana nodded, frowning slightly.

_"How am I going to do that?" _she thought to herself as she walked down the hall. _"It will be difficult to do anything without gaining his trust first. It's going to take some time, but I think I can accomplish it."_

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Hana found Gaara sitting on his roof, like he normally did. Gaara immediately averted his hate filled eyes towards her. Hana could instantly tell that something was wrong. Before she could even say anything, sand had tightly encased her. Gaara stood up and walked towards her.

"Why are you doing this?" she whispered questioningly.

"You were going to kill me!" he growled. "What did you expect me to do?" The sand squeezed her even more. Hana gasped in pain and shook her head at him.

"I was never going to!" Hana gasped.

"You're lying! I heard you talking to the council!"

"Then…. You would have heard me say…. No." Tears began to stream down her face and blood began to trickle down her chin. "I could never hurt you. I don't know why, but I just couldn't. I guess….. I care about you." She suddenly passed out, her head drooping forward.

Gaara stood there in shock as small droplets of Hana's blood splattered on the roof top. The words _"I guess I care about you," _were ringing through his head.

_**"Finish her!" **_the voice of the shukaku growled. Gaara suddenly fell to his knees, clutching his head and grimacing in pain.

The demon inside of him wanted her dead. Gaara, however, didn't want to hurt her anymore. His body began trembling, his body engulfed with pain.

"I won't!" he cried. He fell to the ground, his body shaking uncontrollably. "I'm done with this," he whispered before everything went into a haze.

The sand slowly fell away from Hana's body, until she finally fell to the ground. She was out cold and Gaara was lost with in himself.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

"Temari!" Kankurou called out. "They're up here!"

The two siblings stood there, staring at the two unconscious teens. Temari then knelt beside the unconscious girl and looked her over.

"She doesn't look too bad," Temari sighed, "But we should probably take her to the hospital just in case." Kankurou nodded and scooped the girl up in his arms and carried her to the Sunagakure hospital.

* * *

**_Please Review! I would really like to know what you all think about this so far. Is it better or worse than the original? Why? Please Review!!!! Thank you!_**


	5. I'm So Sorry

Gaara was gently shaken to his senses by his older sister. Groaning, he sat up and looked at his surroundings.

"Where's….. Hana?" he asked, his voice emotionless.

"Kankurou took her to the hospital," Temari answered. "Why did you do that Gaara?" Temari gave him a hard stare, making Gaara feel slightly uncomfortable.

"….." Gaara was silent. He looked down at the ground, disappointed with himself.

"Gaara, look at me!" she snapped. The boy slowly lifted his head, his sea-grean eyes meeting with his sister's serious brown ones. Temari sighed, softening her voice and putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Talk to me baby brother. What happened?" Gaara tore his eyes away from hers for a second time, looking back down at the ground.

"It was a misunderstanding," he whispered. Temari was able to detect a hint of sadness in his voice. "Is…. She alright?" Temari gave his shoulder a small squeeze and nodded her head.

"She's going to be fine. We only took her to the hospital to be on the safe side."

"I need to see her," he grumbled, struggling to get to his feet. Once he was up, he had trouble keeping his balance, so Temari took his arm and put it over her shoulders.

"Let me help you," she told him, flashing him a smile. She was surprised when he returned it with a small one of his own. On the inside, she was grinning at how much he was changing. Naruto had started it, and now Hana was reinforcing it.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Gaara and Temari met up with Kankurou in the hospital's waiting room. The two of them took a seat on either side of Kankurou.

"So what did they say?" Temari asked. Gaara looked up at his brother, waiting for an answer.

"Who cares what they said," Kankurou replied smugly. His siblings glared at him. "If you ask me, she's fine."

"And what makes you so sure?" she asked, obviously aggravated with him.

"Because when she woke up, she got really pissed off at me and threatened to rip my head off if I handed her over. I wouldn't be surprised if she were released tonight." Temari sighed in relief and Gaara smirked at his older brother. "I don't think she likes me very much."

About 10 minutes later, a doctor came out, assisting Hana as they walked over to the sand siblings.

"She has some rather large bruises and should take it easy for a few days," the doctor instructed them. "Other than that, she's perfectly fine." The doctor then left Hana alone with them.

Hana nervously looked into Gaara's eyes. Hana instantly saw sadness and shame. She knew that he was sorry for what he did, but she was still a little shaken up about what had happened. She knew that she would have to get over it. After all, she had made a deal with the sand council.

"Will you…. walk me home, Gaara-kun?" Hana asked softly.

Gaara looked into her eyes, seeing that she was rather nervous. He didn't blame her. He wouldn't have blamed her if she hated him now. He deserved it. Still, he nodded his head in agreement.

Gaara nervously took her arm and draped it over his shoulders. As the two walked by his siblings, Hana shot a death glare at Kankurou. Kankurou smirked at her, not finding her very threatening.

Slowly, Hana and Gaara walked out of the hospital and down the streets of Suna.

"I'm sorry," Gaara finally said. His voice was hushed and sounded kind of sad.

They were walking down Hana's street and were getting closer to her apartment. When Hana finally nodded, her face was completely blank. Deep down, Gaara feared that she was angry with him.

"I forgive you Gaara," Hana said softly. Gaara looked up at her, slightly shocked. "It's not entirely your fault."

Silence fell around them again, making the two rather uncomfortable. Hana was greatly relieved when they arrived at her apartment. Gaara let go of her and received a thanks from the young blonde. She was just about to turn the key and enter, when Gaara stopped her. "Did…. you mean what you said back there?" he asked nervously. Hana turned around to face him, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "You know…. That you…. um…. care about me?" Hana blushed slightly and nodded.

"I did," she answered. "And…. I still do." Gaara lowered his eyes to the ground. He wasn't ashamed or anything. He just didn't know what else to do. "I hope that you can someday trust me enough….. to care about me as well." Gaara looked up at her, seeing her blushing again. He was rather surprised to hear her saying this. He wasn't really sure what he should say.

"I had better go get some sleep," she told him, knowing that Gaara was getting extremely uncomfortable. Gaara nodded and watched as Hana turned and opened the door. "Goodnight," she whispered, before closing the door behind her.

"Goodnight," Gaara whispered no one there to hear him. He sighed to himself and slowly walked back to his house.


	6. Earning Your Trust

**The Next Day**

Gaara was knocking on Hana's door, wanting to make sure she was doing okay. He knew that he didn't have to, but he felt that he kind of owed her one. Plus, he had nothing better to do and he was kind of relieved by the company she provided.

The door was slowly opened, revealing a fairly timid Hana. She smiled shyly at him.

"I'm glad you stopped by," she said softly. "I kind of wanted to talk to you about something." Gaara nodded, entering Hana's small apartment. He followed her into the living area, and watched as she took a seat in a chair. She motioned for him to take a seat on the couch, and he did.

"What did you want to discuss," Gaara asked indifferently. Hana stared into his cold eyes, Gaara doing the same.

"I wanted to talk to you about last night." Gaara nodded, looking down at the floor. "More specifically, I want to talk to you about the meeting I had with the council. I know you heard some of it, but there was apparently a part that you didn't hear." Gaara nodded slightly, still not looking up at her.

"What did they say?" he asked.

"After I refused to assassinate you, we kind of stroke a deal. They agreed to leave you alone, so long as you can control yourself. They put you under my responsibility. You aren't a little kid, and don't really need me to supervise you. I trust you to not do anything that will break this deal." Gaara looked up at her in shock.

_"Why is she putting her trust in me?" _Gaara wondered.

"Why?" Gaara asked unexpectedly. Hana smiled and looked down at the floor.

"I don't know. I guess you seem like a trust worthy person."

"But last night….."

"That's done with," she interrupted. "If you linger on the past to long, you won't have much of a future. My friend Uzumaki, Naruto has a bit of a problem doing that." Gaara's eyes widened at the mention of the hyper-active blonde's name.

"I wouldn't have guessed that," Gaara said softly.

"You met him before, right?" Gaara nodded.

"We battled each other once. He was the one who got me started down a newer path."

"That sounds like something Naruto would do. It's definitely one of his gifts."

"It wasn't just that. He and I were very similar. We had both been through the same loneliness and pain." Hana nodded, smiling weakly.

Silence fell around the two, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere. Hana shifted around in her seat uncomfortably.

"How can you put your trust in people so easily?" Gaara asked. Hana looked at him in surprise, seeing him looking down at the ground in sadness.

"I…. don't really know," Hana admitted. She frowned at the red-head, figuring that talking about something like this was hard.

"Everyone makes it look so easy," he sighed, "But I just don't seem to be able to." Hana smirked at him, chuckling softly. Gaara's head snapped up and he glared at her.

"You have accomplished more than you realize," she told him with a gentle smile. Gaara looked at her with a blank expression, which made Hana giggle a little bit more. She knew that he had absolutely no idea about what she meant. "Believe it or not, you have actually been putting trust into people." Gaara raised an eyebrow.

"How?" he asked.

"There are different levels of trust. Last night, for example, you trusted that I was telling you the truth. The proof is in the fact that you haven't killed me yet. You also trust me right now. You are sitting here, listening to me and talking to me as well."

Gaara thought about her statement for a few moments before finally nodding. Hana smiled and slumped back in her chair, some of her bleach-blonde hair falling in her face. Gaara smirked and looked up at the clock hanging on the wall.

"I should probably get going," he sighed. "I have to go train with my siblings soon." Hana grinned and nodded.

"That reminds me, I'm still pissed at your brother." Gaara smirked, and nodded. "Kick his butt for me." He nodded again and slowly got up.

"Get some rest today," he told her before leaving.

* * *

**_Alright, this chapter is extremely different as well. My plan is to somehow make this story a bit longer than the original. I remember getting several comments saying that my story was a bit on the short side, so I'm going to do my best to make it a little longer. That and I want to clean up my OC-Hana! She deserves the little clean up. I also want to keep Gaara from going a little OOC for a little bit._**

**_thank you slack-jawed cheese hugger, and What About Today. I really appreciate you reading and reviewing my story. It makes me really happy. I hope you both like the changes I have been making. Thanks again._**

**_What did you all think? Please review and let me know!_**


	7. Full Moon

Gaara and Hana had been hanging out during the nights. Almost every night, Hana would come up and sit with Gaara on his roof. They would sit there silently for and hour or so, just looking up at the starry sky. On nights that Hana didn't show up, Gaara felt a strange void. He didn't realize how much her company affected him until she wasn't there.

Hana had been in the village for a little over a month. Even though Gaara didn't want to admit it, Hana had left a deep impression on him. His siblings noticed the change in the atmosphere around him. They both knew that it was because of Hana.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Gaara was sitting on the roof, looking up at the full moon in the sky. He sighed to himself, hugging his knees to his chest. Hana hadn't been there in over three days, and he was starting to really miss her companionship. Even though she only stayed with him for about an hour, it was better than nothing. It was something he looked forward to, since Hana was usually working for the council during the day.

He sighed once again, shutting his eyes.

"You better not be trying to fall asleep," a voice chuckled. His eyelids flew open and he let go of his knees. He turned his head slightly to the left, watching Hana as she took a seat next to him.

"I haven't seen you around in awhile," Gaara said softly. Hana nodded and smiled weakly.

"I know," she sighed. "I've been really busy lately."

"Can I ask you something?" Gaara asked, looking up at the moon.

"As long as I can ask you something." Gaara nodded, still not looking directly into her eyes. "Alright, what do you want to know?"

"What are your abilities?" Hana smirked at him and sighed.

"It's really hard to explain actually. Easily put, I have the power to control another person's body network. In other words, I can control some else's body at a cellular level." Gaara gave her a weird look, still not understanding. Hana smirked at him, laughing. "I told you it was hard to explain. Here, it'll be easier to just show you."

"What are you going to do?" he asked, a little skeptical.

"Don't you trust me?" Hana asked. Gaara thought for a couple of moments, before finally nodding. Hana smiled and put a hand on the back of his head. Gaara flinched under her touch, his body tensing up. "Relax Gaara. Close your eyes and clear your thoughts." Gaara let out a deep breath and slowly shut his eyes. Upon doing so, he was immersed into a dream. His dream was of the first time he and Hana had met.

Gaara slowly opened his eyes a few minutes later, the dream fading away. He looked at Hana who was just looking up at the moon, as if nothing had happened.

"How…."

"I pulled one of your memories forward, creating a dreamlike experience," she explained. "If I wanted to, I could go deep into your unconscious and find out anything that I want to know. It's a long and tiring process though, so I don't really like doing it unless absolutely necessary."

Gaara was silent for a moment, slowly going through everything in his mind.

"You said you had a question for me?" Hana looked at him and nodded.

"Have you ever felt love?" she asked softly. Gaara's face turned extremely pale and he averted his eyes downwards. Hana frowned and looked down in shame as well. "I'm sorry. You don't have to…."

"I'm not really sure," Gaara answered in his monotone voice. Hana looked up at him with sad eyes. "I thought that I had love when I was fairly young, but that was all snatched away." Hana laid a gentle hand on Gaara's shoulder. He cringed under the touch, as if it were painful.

"If it makes you feel any better, I kind of love you." Gaara jerked his head up, looking at her with wide eyes.

"What?"

"I mean, I would be willing to put my life on the line for you, if need be." Gaara could feel his stomach do a somersault. He wasn't sure how to feel. He was definitely shocked, but he also had a good feeling about it.

Hana's eyes widened when she saw Gaara's lips curl into the slightest smile. She then grinned and giggled.

"I would do the same for you," he replied softly. He averted his eyes to the moon, Hana averting her eyes to the same object.

* * *

**_Yay! This is a slightly original chapter. You won't find this chapter in the original version. I hope you all enoy this one. It was a little difficult to get it good enough to post. Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!_**


	8. What is Love?

There was a knock on Gaara's bedroom door, followed by Temari coming in. She shut the door behind her and slowly approached her younger brother. Gaara was lying on his bed, looking at his sister with emotionless eyes.

"Is everything alright Gaara?" she asked. Gaara could see that her face was etched with worry. He slowly sat up and nodded at his sister.

"What makes you think that something was wrong?" he asked, not taking his eyes off of her. Temari sighed and took a seat next to him.

"For one, you missed training three times this week. Secondly, you have been lost in your thoughts a lot more than usual. Something has been on your mind for quite awhile now, and I want to know what." Gaara looked into his sister's stern, onyx eyes. He immediately knew that she wasn't going to leave until she got a suitable answer.

_"I guess I could tell her," _got thought to himself. _"She's a girl after all, and she's my sister. Maybe she can help."_ Gaara sighed, looking down at the ground.

"About two weeks ago, Hana told me that she loved me," Gaara told her, his voice hushed. Temari looked at him with wide eyes.

"So are you two boyfriend and girlfriend now?!" she asked in shock. Gaara immediately looked back up at her, his eyes filled with confusion.

"She said that she would be willing to give up her own life for me."

"Oh!" she sighed, "That kind of love!" Gaara still looked at her with confusion.

"There's more than one type of love?" he asked. Temari smirked at him and nodded.

"The type of love I have for you is called brotherly love. You should know that already. The type of love that Hana was referring to was probably similar to brotherly love. In other words, she loves and respects you as a fellow comrade."

"What was the love you were referring earlier?" Temari blushed, shaking her head. She was about to stand up to leave, but Gaara grabbed her by the wrist. Temari looked at Gaara's serious eyes, knowing that he really wanted to know. Sighing, she sat back down.

The love I was referring to is an intimate love." Gaara looked at her in even more confusion, which made Temari chuckle a bit. "It's the deepest kind of love that you can have for someone else. It's usually involves the opposite sex, but not always I guess. Anyway, it starts out with being girlfriend and boyfriend. If things work out, it usually turns into marriage, and they become husband and wife." Temari was a little uncomfortable about having to explain this, especially to someone of Gaara's age. Still, it couldn't be helped. Gaara hadn't experienced any type of love for the longest time, so of course he was going to be asking questions.

"Temari?" The blonde kunoichi looked at her baby brother, seeing that he was looking down at the ground in embarrassment. "How…. do you know if you're in love?" Temari's mouth almost fell wide open at this question, but she did her best to maintain her calm disposition. She thought for a moment before answering.

"It's really hard to explain, since it is a complex emotion. I guess you would have a strong attachment to someone else. Sometimes you might feel sick to your stomach, but in a good way. Usually you can tell after a kiss."

Temari looked down at him, a little confused at why her brother was asking all these questions. He wasn't one to talk much, but when he did, he definitely spoke what was on his mind.

She watched as he slowly got to his feet.

"I'm going to a walk," he told her. Temari nodded, standing up as well.

"Don't be gone too long," she told him, her voice soft. Gaara nodded as well and slowly made his way out of the house.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Gaara was slowly walking down the streets of Suna, keeping his eyes to the ground and away from other people. As he walked, he couldn't avoid the whispers and glares of the villagers.

_"It's him! What is he doing?"_

_"Don't get to close to him child!"_

_"Look! Father says that he is a monster."_

Gaara winced at hearing the word "monster". He looked up, seeing the hateful glares of the villagers. He quickened his pace, grabbing his head as pain began to overcome him. He collapsed in the alleyway of one of the apartment buildings. He stayed there, groaning in pain. He grabbed a hold of his own hair, slightly pulling on it.

Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around, about to lash out at whoever had touched him. He stopped himself at the last second, seeing that the person was Hana. He stared into her emotionless ice-blue eyes for a moment before falling to his knees. His started to tremble as his body was engulfed with pain.

"Leave me alone!" he hissed at Hana.

"I'm not leaving you alone like this," she told him, her voice blank and void of emotion. Gaara grasped his head in his hands, digging his fingernails into his scalp and closing his eyelids shut.

"Please! I don't want to hurt you!" Instead of going away from him, she approached the red-head.

"You can't stay here," she told him, grabbing him by the arm and yanking him to his feet. She led him out of the alleyway and into the apartment complex, which just so happened to be hers.

She took him into her apartment room. Just as Hana shut the door, the cork on Gaara's gourd popped off. The crimson-haired boy fell to his knees, crying out in pain.

Hana quickly went over and knelt in front of him. She focused all of her energy into hand and gently placed it on the side of Gaara's head. She kept it there for a few moments until his trembling subsided. She then placed a hand beneath his chin and made him look up at her. She placed her glowing hand on his forehead, causing Gaara to close his eyes. He could feel his energy being drained from him, and he couldn't move. He didn't really want to anyway.

After a couple of minutes, Gaara felt Hana removed her hand. Not even a second after she did, his body went limp. He fell forward into Hana's arms. He felt her taking his gourd off, letting it fall to the floor.

Gaara slowly opened his eyes as Hana put his arm over her shoulders. She helped him walked over to the couch and had him lay down. She knelt down on the floor and looked at him with concern in her eyes.

"Are you alright?" she asked softly. Gaara slowly nodded his head.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. Hana smiled and nodded.

"It's alright. You didn't really do anything." He sighed and nodded. "What were you doing anyways?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Trying to clear my head," he sighed. "I guess it wasn't really smart of me to walk around the village in the middle of the day." Hana smirked and shook her head.

"You should be able to do stuff like that without having to worry about things like that happening. If they weren't so cold to you, I highly doubt that you would ever have any problems like this." Gaara looked at her with his emotionless sea-green eyes, thinking about what Temari had told him. Was he really in love with Hana?


	9. Gaara's Little Crush

Hana was working alongside Kankurou, helping him organize the manila folders into the right places. They were in a rather small room that was filled with many file cabinets. In the center of the room was a small round table that was stacked with manila folders that needed to be labeled and then filed.

"I can't believe I'm stuck in here doing this," Kankurou complained. Hana smirked at him.

"Maybe they think you're too cocky to work on the field," Hana snickered. Kankurou shot a glare at her, which only made her laugh even more.

"What did I ever do to make you hate me?" he sighed.

"You handed me over to the hospital's evil clutches."

"The hospital is not evil. I did that to make sure you were alright."

"Whatever you want to believe. By the way, I don't hate you."

"Then why do you torture me?" Hana smirked.

"I torture you because it's fun. You're always completely over dramatic and it's hilarious." Kankurou smirked and nodded.

"Temari told me the same thing."

The two went back to working. Hana would label the folder and Kankurou would file it.

"So what do think about my little bro?" Kankurou asked with a smirk. He looked at Hana, seeing her blush slightly. "You like him don't you?"

"Of course I do," she replied. "Why wouldn't I? He's my friend after all." Kankurou's smile grew even wider.

"I don't mean it like that," he told her. "I mean, you like, like him." Hana looked away from him, doing her best to hide her blush.

"Is it that obvious?" she asked softly. Kankurou snickered to himself and nodded.

"Pretty much. The only person who hasn't noticed is Gaara, which isn't really surprising."

"I know that," she sighed.

"You know he talked to Temari about when you told him that you loved him. She said that she hadn't seen him that confused in the longest time."

"I meant for it to sound like brotherly love," Hana said sadly. "I didn't want to freak him out I guess." She stopped herself from saying anymore and looked up at Kankurou with confusion. "Why in the hell am I telling you all this." Kankurou smirked again and went back to filing a couple of the folders.

"He has a crush on you too," he told her as he closed one of the file cabinets. Hana looked at him with wide eyes.

"How do you know?" Kankurou smiled and shook his head.

"I don't really know. Temari told me that she could definitely tell, and that got me kind of seeing it too." Hana smiled slightly and began labeling another folder. "If you ever want to become more than friends, you know that you're going to have to be the one to break the ice."

"I kind of figured that. I just didn't want to go out and do anything without knowing his true feelings."

"I thought you were a mind reader?" Kankurou questioned.

"I am, but I respect Gaara too much too invade his thoughts like that." Kankurou nodded.

"I know that my opinion doesn't count for much….." Kankurou was immediately interrupted by Hana laughing.

"You can say that again!" Kankurou rolled his eyes at her and waited for her to finish.

"Like I was saying before, if you want more, make the move."

"I'm afraid that he might not take it right," she sighed.

"He might be a little confused at first, but Gaara isn't stupid. "In my opinion, Gaara couldn't ask for someone better than you. Afterwards, I'm sure he'll figure the same thing out." Hana smiled and got up from her seat. Before Kankurou could even figure out what was happening, Hana had already wrapped her arms around him and was squeezing him tightly.

"Gah! When are you going to stop torturing me!" he exclaimed teasingly. Hana laughed, squeezing him even tighter."

"You're not so bad yourself doll boy," Hana told him softly.

"I'm not a doll boy," he grumbled.

"Yes you are!" she exclaimed, letting go of him. "You're the master of the D-O-M-D." Kankurou raised an eyebrow at her, a little confused.

"D-O-M-D?" he repeated questioningly. Hana nodded, smirking evilly. "And that stands for what?"

"Dolls of Mass Destruction," she giggled. Kankurou sighed at her, shaking his head in disappointment.

"You are such a loser," he sighed.

* * *

**_Another original chapter that you won't find in the original. I haven't used a lot of Kankurou in this story, so I decided to give him a little part in this chapter. Do you think I made him a little too much OOC? Please let me know._**

**_This chapter is dedicated to What About Today, who has been reviewing my updates. Thank you so much!_**


	10. One Starry Night

Gaara was lying on his back on to of the roof. He was looking up at all the stars, like he did just about every night. He had no idea why, but he never got tired of looking at them. Some people would label this as being boring, but it was one of Gaara's favorite pass time activities. It was one of those complex things that was wrapped up in a simple package for one to enjoy.

"Can I join you?" a female voice asked. Gaara rolled his head slightly to the left and saw that Hana was standing next to him. He silently nodded and returned his gaze back to the stars. Hana sat down next to him and then slowly laid back and looked up at the stars in fascination.

The two of them were silent for close to an hour. The silence was broken by the sound of Hana's chattering teeth. That reminded Gaara that he was cold as well, which caused him to start shivering.

"I-I'm s-sorry," Hana apologized, a bit of humor in her voice. Gaara looked at her and blinked.

"D-Don't worry about it," he told her. His eyes widened as he felt her wriggling in a little bit closer to him. Before he knew it she was cuddled against his body, laying her head on his chest. Gaara's body went stiff, and his heart started beating rapidly. After a couple of minutes, his shivering started to subside, although it didn't disappear completely. Hana wasn't shaking as much as she had been either.

"Better?" she asked, looking up at him with her icy blue eyes. Gaara slowly nodded his head. He noticed that Hana was blushing slightly and found that his cheeks were burning hot as well.

The two of them stayed that way for several hours. Neither of them had moved or said a word, which was fine. They kind of enjoyed the silence.

After awhile, Gaara noticed that she had fallen asleep. He smirked to himself and slowly sat up, gathering the sleeping female into his arms. He carefully got to his feet and hopped down from the roof. He held onto the girl in his arms, bracing himself as he landed. Hana stirred a little bit in his arms, but surprisingly, she didn't wake up. He carried her bridal style, into the house and into his room. He gently laid her on his bed and carefully took off her sandals.

"Gaara?" the asked sleepily. She looked at him through half opened eyes. Gaara dropped her sandals near the end of the bed and helped Hana under the covers. He sat on the edge of the bed until she was sleeping again. Gaara slowly stood up and walked over to one of the empty corners in his room and sat down.

Usually, Gaara would just watch the stars all night. Even though he loved looking at the stars, he hated the fact that he was alone. He would always have a yearning for the sun to come up. That night, however, he didn't care how long it took for the sun to come up. He was content just watching Hana. He had no idea why, but he was. There was some kind of unknown feeling that he had for her. He felt that as long as he had Hana, everything would eventually be okay. It was almost as if she was his sunshine. After all, she kept him from going back into the darkness. Uzumaki, Naruto chased away the darkness and started him down a new path. Hana made sure that he stayed on that path. She was Gaara's sun, his light, his best friend.


	11. Promise Me

Hana woke up the next morning in slightly unfamiliar territory. She slowly sat up and stretched her arms towards the ceiling.

"Did you sleep well?" a somber voice asked from the corner of the room. Hana smiled to herself and slowly turned her head towards the voice.

"Actually, I slept quite well," she said sweetly. "You could have woken me up." Gaara nodded.

"I know," he sighed.

"What time is it?" she asked, bringing her legs over the edge of the bed.

"I guess it's close to 10." Hana nodded, and began putting her sandals on. Gaara stood up and Hana walked over to him.

"I should be going," she told him softly. Gaara nodded. "Thank you so much for…… well, you know." Gaara smirked and nodded again. She gave him a quick hug and left.

Gaara stood there as still as a statue, all of his muscles tense. He still wasn't used to the physical contact. One might think that he would want it to stop, since it made him feel slightly uncomfortable. However, that wasn't how he felt at all. Even though he felt a bit awkward, there was something inside of him that enjoyed the feeling. It was as if he wanted more.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Later that day, Hana paid Gaara an unexpected visit. The reason it was so unexpected was because Hana was usually gone during the afternoon. The only time she usually had free were during the late evenings and at night.

"You're back early," Gaara commented. Hana nodded and looked down at the ground with sad eyes. Gaara immediately noticed the gloomy aura around her.

"I will be leaving tomorrow morning to return to my village," she said softly. The silence that followed after that was eerie, making the both of them uncomfortable.

"I requested for you to be my escort," she finally said. "Is that okay with you?" Gaara nodded his head, doing his best to hide the sadness that he was feeling. He knew that he would be fine without her. He was just a little reluctant in returning to being alone.

"Do you still want to meet tonight?" he asked. Hana smiled and nodded.

"I would really like that. Right now I need to head back to my apartment and clean up a bit." Gaara nodded.

"I have to go train with my siblings."

"I guess I'll see you tonight then."

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Later that night, Hana and Gaara were sitting beside each other on the roof of his home. They had been silent most of the time, which was making them very uncomfortable.

"Will you ever be coming back?" he finally asked. Hana looked at him and smiled weakly.

"I'm sure I will," she answered. "If not for a mission, I'll try and come back so that I can visit you." Gaara sighed and nodded.

"I know you will." Hana smirked at him.

"Close your eyes," she told him, kind of randomly. Gaara raised an eyebrow at her, making her chuckle a little. "Do you trust me Sabaku no Gaara?" she asked playfully. Gaara smirked and nodded.

"I trust you," he answered softly.

"Then close your eyes." Gaara, hesitant at first, slowly let his eyelids fall. Hana unclipped a necklace that hung from around her neck and took it off. She held it out in front of her, looking at the dark blue crystal that was normally hidden beneath her shirt. The crystal hung from a silver chain, accenting its dark hue. She reached around his neck and hooked the necklace into place. She slowly pulled away, but not before quickly kissing Gaara on the lips. Gaara's eyes shot open and Hana quickly pulled away, blushing furiously. Gaara looked down at the dark blue crystal that was hanging around his neck. He lightly fingered it for a moment before moving his fingers up to his lips. He gently touched his lips and brought his hand before him, looking at his fingertips in confusion.

_"Was that a kiss?" _he wondered. He suddenly remembered the conversation he had with his older sister.

_**"It's really hard to explain, since it is a complex emotion. I guess you would have a strong attachment to someone else. Sometimes you might feel sick to your stomach, but in a good way. Usually you can tell after a kiss."**_

Gaara looked up at Hana, who was still looking down at the ground in embarrassment. He bit his bottom lip, urging himself to tap Hana on the shoulder. As soon as she looked up he pressed roughly pressed his lips against hers, tightly shutting his eyes.

Hana's eyes widened in surprise at first. After she realized what was happening, she kissed back and let her eyes slowly close. Without her even realizing it, her arms began snaking around his neck. In response, Gaara's hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist.

Hana pulled away, but only to get a quick breath. Gaara pulled her back in for another kiss, crushing his lips against hers. Hana moaned in pleasure, which made Gaara press his lips against hers even more so.

After a couple of minutes, Hana pulled away and buried her face into his chest. Gaara's body was still a little tense, but it wasn't as bad as it used to be. Gaara laid down, allowing Hana to snuggled up against him. He wrapped a protective arm around her, keeping her close to his body.

"Gaara," Hana whispered to him.

"Hmm?"

"Promise that you'll wait for me." Gaara could hear the sadness in her voice, which made him pull her even close to him, if that was even possible.

"I promise," he whispered into her ear.

* * *

**_This chapter was a little bit different, but not by much. I added a little bit and I intensified some parts as well. I know that I said I was going to make this longer, but I like this as an ending. It's nice, romantic, and warm. That is the type of emotion I want to leave people with._**

**_What did you all think? Please let me know and R&R!!_**

**_Now it's onto rewriting the sequel to this, "Did You Wait For Me?" That's definately going to go though some makeover. I'll probably keep the Kankurou stuff the same in that, but I think I'm going to add more stuff between Hana and Gaara in there._**

**_Hope you all enjoyed and hope that you all stick around to read the edited version of Wait for Me. I have a four day weekend and no homework, except for reading. Other than that, I am going to type as much as I can._**

**_LATER! R&R!!!! _**


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